SUMMARY: Grandparents have a sufficient legal interest in dependency proceedings involving their biological or adopted grandchildren to entitle them to intervene prior to a final disposition because the relationship between grandparent and grandchild would be terminated if a dependency proceeding is finally resolved by a termination of parental rights.
The State of Nebraska filed a petition on November 9, 1994 alleging that Kayle and Kylee lacked proper parental care by reason of the faults or habits of their mother. The children were adjudicated on December 13, 1994. The children’s grandparents attended the detention and disposition hearings, and filed a motion for leave to intervene on November 19, 1996 requesting they be allowed to present evidence that placement of the minor children with the grandparents would be in the best interests of the children. The juvenile court denied the grandparents’ motion based on a finding that there was no legal basis upon which it could grant the motion.
The Nebraska Supreme Court held grandparents of a juvenile who is the subject of a dependency proceeding have a direct legal interest in the subject matter of the action which entitles them to intervene as a matter of right. The Court pointed out that NRS §25-328 (Reissue 1995) allows any person who has or claims an interest in the matter of litigation to move to intervene. In addition, though the Court has held that grandparents lack standing to intervene after parental rights are terminated, the same is not true prior to the termination of parental rights. The fact that a grandparent’s legal relationship with a grandchild can be terminated in proceedings, coupled with the State’s public policy to foster grandparent-grandchild relationships, entitles grandparents to intervene as a matter of right.